The worst has been confirmed in regards to the injury suffered by Cleveland Cavaliers starting center Anderson Varejao, as he suffered a torn left achilles with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter in the Cavs’ 125-104 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Cleveland center Anderson Varejao has suffered a torn Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the season, league source tells Yahoo Sports
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 24, 2014
ESPN reports Anderson Varejao indeed tore his Achilles: http://t.co/0RK7nFQp0t
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) December 24, 2014
Varejao was having a very solid season for the Cavs up until this point. In 26 games (all starts) this season for the 11-year veteran, he was averaging 9.8 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game.
The sudden loss leaves the Cavs without their starting center for the rest of the 2014-2015 season. Tristan Thompson and Brendan Haywood of the Cavs are expected to see their roles increase, or the Cavs may pursue someone via trade or free agency.
Anderson Varejao is a huge loss for Cleveland. Cavs were already efforting to acquire another big. Expect those efforts to be ratcheted up.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) December 24, 2014
Josh Smith, who was waived by the Pistons on Monday, is a name that has been of interest by many teams, including Cleveland.
Prior to Varejao going down, #Cavs have made a call looking into Josh Smith, league source says. But told it was more of due diligence. — Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) December 24, 2014
